Week 3 of 4

Did 121k in about 10 hours (av 5:01) during Week 3 of 12.

Happy with the mileage progression (88, 90 in the last two weeks). Totaled 375k in last 30 days, which is a decent increase after running only 60k in Dec, 160k in Jan, and 250k in both Feb and Mar.

I don’t expect mileage in subsequent weeks to increase significantly from this level (I did 3 doubles which artificially boosted the total). My aim for the rest of the training cycle is to keep the mileage around this level (plus or minus), and start increasing the pace (especially long runs, aerobic runs) and start to introduce long MP-type runs.

With respect to MP, currently I found that I can’t run at 4:20-4:25 pace for some reasons (last week only managed to do 4:35s during a 16k run). If conditions are right, I might do a ‘spec test’ next week, such as 2 x 10k at MP in order to evaluate my fitness level and identify things that I need to work on.

Mon (Easy):
AM: 35mins Easy Run with 4x100 strides (4:57)
PM: 35mins Easy on treadmill (5:27), last 5mins @ 4% incline

Tue (Intervals):
AM: 2k wu, 10 x 800 with 90secs walk, 2k down
PM: 30mins Recovery (5:40) on treadmill + light weights

Fed up of doing long intervals unsuccessfully, I did shorter intervals this week consisting of 10 x 800 on a bike path which is marked every 100m. In order to ensure that my HR will return to normal levels (<140), I took 90secs walking break in between (if I do jogging, my HR would be in 150 range and made the subsequent intervals harder). The plan was to do the 800s in 3:04 (3:50 min/km), but only managed to hit one. The remainder was done in 3:02 (5 reps), 3:00 (3 reps), and 2:52 for the last one. Note that this is not a Yasso workout.

Wed (Easy Long):
AM: 2h:06m Easy on undulanting terrain (5:15)
PM: Pilates

Replacement GPS was scheduled to arrive tomorrow, so I used MapMyRun to create a running route. Ran at easy pace the whole way and pretty much uninterrupted except for short drink stops and traffic lights. Consumed 0.5l sports drinks, 0.5l water, and 2 salt tablets.

Thu (Easy):
AM: 40mins Light Fartlek (4:57) on treadmill
PM: 35mins Recovery (5:38, 70% Max HR) – new Garmin

Felt a bit bored running on treadmill, so sprinkled in 5 x 90secs bursts at HM pace (4:10), with 90secs recovery at moderate pace (4:45). Replacement Garmin arrived in the arvo and tested the HR monitor with a slow run.

Fri (Easy):
AM: 52mins Easy (5:04, 75% Max HR) with 4 x 12secs hill sprints
PM: Yoga

Sat (Aborted Long MP):
48mins Run (4:48) with 30mins @ old MP

The plan was to do 4 x 5k at MP, but 5 minutes into the run, it began to rain hard. Still attempted to do MP but the effort felt so hard. Due to the heavy downpour, socks & shoes were soaked in water and felt heavy. Decided to finish the MP run after 30mins and go home. Although the rain stopped afterwards, I didn’t feel like running and risk catching a cold. Felt a bit light-headed in the afternoon and took a couple of panadols.

Sun (Long):
31k Long Run in 2h:30m on undulating terrain (4:53)

Woke up at 5 but it was pouring hard. Slept again and ran at 7. Post-rain weather was cool, 26c, 90% humidity, but the good thing it was cloudy and windy. Since I did a bit of MP run yesterday, I decided to defer the long MP run until next week. I used Pete Pfitzinger’s guide for long runs, starting at MP+20%, ending at MP +10%. Therefore, I did 30mins sections @ 5:00-5:05, 4:55-5:00, 4:50-4:55, 4:45-4:50, 4:40-4:45 min/km. Consumed gels at km 17 and 24, 250ml sports drinks, 2 salt tablets, and lots of water. Felt good except in the last 30mins where I had to stop a couple of times.

Given the Singapore conditions, I am pretty happy to keep my long runs at around 28-30k level. At the end of the month, I’ll be flying to Melbourne to visit my wife and son for a week (passport application). During that time, I might do 35-36k run taking advantage of the weather.

Total 121k for the week